Jim Hayward: Weld County officer remembered at Friday memorial

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Danielle Hayward reads a poem during a memorial service for her father, Jim Hayward, at the Greeley Wesleyan Church Friday morning. Danielle was joined by more than 200 family and friends. Jim Hayward died Christmas day after a battling brain cancer for eight years.

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
A small monument to Jim Hayward, a former Weld County Sheriff's deputy, sits by the stage of the Greeley Wesleyan Church Friday. Hayward died on Dec. 25 after an eight-year battle with cancer. In addition a fund has been established to raise scholarship funds for students who are studying law to honor Hayward's service.

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Stephanie Hayward holds the flag presented to her by Weld County Sheriff John Cooke as she mourns alongside her family during the memorial service held for Jim Hayward at the Greeley Wesleyan Church on Friday. The Hayward family listened as Pastor Paul Gilbert and Chaplain Jeff Figgs reminisced about Hayward's practical jokes and his strong faith.

Donations

Donations for Hayward’s memorial service can be sent to the Carroll-Lewellen Funeral Home, 503 Terry St., Longmont, CO 80501.

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Jim Hayward’s red Nebraska Cornhuskers jacket and baseball cap hung on a stage still adorned with lighted Christmas trees at the Greeley Wesleyan Church, where memories of the retired Weld County officer were shared in a celebration of life Friday morning.

More than 200 people, including at least 20 of his fellow officers, gathered to honor Hayward, a former sheriff’s deputy who died Dec. 25 after an eight-year struggle with cancer.

Mark Jenkins, a longtime friend, led the crowd in one cheer of, “Go big red!” It was a wish that the Cornhuskers fan challenged Jenkins to before his death.

“I’m here at Jim’s request,” Jenkins said, wearing a Nebraska T-shirt under his blazer and a hat that Hayward gave him reading “I’m Stupid.”

“(Hayward’s) got one that says, ‘Stupid’s Hero,’ ” Jenkins said.

They had been traveling back from Nebraska when Hayward made his friend agree to lead the cheer at his funeral, knowing that Jenkins could not decline.

A fixture of the sheriff’s office for 34 years, Hayward retired as a well-respected commander.

“Jim was the heartbeat of the sheriff’s office,” said Bill Spalding, another longtime friend who worked alongside Hayward for most of his career.

“Jim will always be here with me and a lot of the other guys; you just can’t get rid of Jim,” Spalding said after the service.

Spalding reminisced about practical jokes with Hayward, recalling a plant of his own that “smelled like vomit after a week” — one that he slyly relocated to Hayward’s office.

“He couldn’t figure out what that smell was for weeks,” Spalding laughed. “But Jim was the ultimate prankster. We have done strange things to each other.”

Spalding added that he had no role in the kidnapping of his friend’s Cornhusker cheerleader Barbie, which was returned, he told The Tribune on Wednesday, weeks after a Colorado-Nebraska game.

Many who spoke described Hayward as a man of deep faith. Hayward and his wife, Stephanie, once served as greeters at Greeley Wesleyan.

“His work was a good work and an honorable work in front of God and his scripture,” Chaplain Jeff Figgs said.

Bagpipes echoed through the church while the Weld County honor guard folded an American flag, which Sheriff John Cooke presented to Hayward’s wife.

“I hope we do it right for the family,” Sgt. Pete Wagoner, a member of the honor guard, remembered thinking during the service.

After the bagpipes faded into the hallway, a rousing “At The Hop” came over the loudspeakers and people began to smile.

“It’s not sympathy, it’s a party,” Spalding said. “He loved his wife so much, and his family, he didn’t want anybody crying.”